Three Reasons to Share Data Before Reviewing Performance

It is time for golf course owners and golf course operators to get serious about comparative analysis. As we wrote previously, golfers and golf professionals know to improve your golf game you must keep track of your key performance indicators; how else would you know what areas of your game to work on? Managing your tee time inventory is no different.

By confidentially sharing your rounds and green fee revenue performance data with a trusted data provider you will take the first step to becoming a better, more respected, more knowledgeable professional.

IT’S SIMPLE:

All it takes is 20 minutes to export data once a month. Then when you invest 30 minutes to review your benchmark report you will be on the road to streamlined information, better staff meetings, and improved performance.

1. Sharing data helps you explain performance.

1. When you are reviewing performance with your management or ownership, inevitably this question comes up: “How does our performance compare with our competitors and the market?” This could put the facility manager in a bad situation because you can only answer that question with informally provided information: “Well, I spoke to Bill at Golf Course XYZ, and they had a good month.” Or, “I spoke to Jane, and she said that rounds were down 5%.” The real answer: “I don’t know.” All of these answers put the manager in an awkward spot of not having independently provided impartial data to share. This is the number-one reason you should share data to a trusted source: so you can be confident in your position compared to others.

2. Sharing data to an independent data provider gives you credibility.

2. When you share data to an independent source for the purpose of benchmarking it tells management and ownership that your desire for success has pushed you into exploring new options. By confidentially sharing with an independent data provider, you are ensuring that your performance is measured impartially. With this new data, the trust between the management and ownership teams is strengthened.

3. Sharing data will make you a better operator.

3. By sharing data and receiving feedback that includes market and competitive set performance you can see how you measure up and where you can make adjustments to help improve revenue performance. It will not happen overnight, but in time and with regular evaluation, you will be able to: make sure membership programs are priced right, confirm that your third-party marketing relationship is providing the desired return on investment, and confirm that comp rounds are not eating away at your profitability.